A proposal to give mutual recognition to CAs in one another's nation was mooted by South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), a body of SAARC.

The SAARC body has already developed a common course for the purpose called minimum common sallybus, President SAFA Syed Shabbar Zaidi told PTI.

"At the moment, there is no exchange of CAs between the SAARC countries. But we are developing a common course for it. We have already developed a minimum common syllabus and by 2011-12 we hope that the exchange would materialise," Zaidi said.

He added that all the SAARC countries, which include Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and India, would then be asked to adopt the minimum common

sallybus. The basic framework of the course will be same and the countries can then shape it as per their regional need, he said.

"This is what we foresee today. We are trying hard to achieve mutual exchange and within 3-4 years we are hopeful to enter into Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)," Zaidi said.

At present, no country recognises chartered accountants of other countries. When contacted, ICAI Secretary Ashok Haldia said, "With the growing cross-border trade, the demand for chartered accountants has increased. With SAARC countries having same culture and ethos, it would help CAs to grow professionally."